Manu Chao is a French-Spanish musician, record producer, and political activist known for his world music and reggae style with punk influences. He sings in multiple languages and has been part of various musical groups, including Mano Negra and Radio Bemba Sound System. He has also collaborated with other artists and produced film soundtracks. In recent years, his music has gained popularity in English-speaking countries, and he has performed at major music festivals.
Manu Chao, born José-Manuel Thomas Arthur Chao, is a well-known musical artist. Manu Chao was born in Paris, France on June 21, 1961 to parents of Spanish descent. Besides singing and playing guitar, Manu Chao is also a record producer and most of the music he makes is considered to fit into the world music and reggae genres. Some also consider his music to have aspects of punk, due to the strong political and social content of his lyrics. His songs are likely to contain decidedly leftist lyrics, criticizing social issues such as immigration and globalization. For this reason, Manu Chao is considered by many to be as much a political activist as a musical artist.
Manu Chao sings in several languages, often within the same song. He sings in his native French, as well as English, Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic. Manu Chao can also sing in two lesser spoken languages, Galician and Wolof. His musical influences include rock, salsa, reggae, ska, French-style lyrical chanson and Algerian popular music.
Manu Chao has been a member of numerous musical groups. Perhaps the first of these was a punk and rockabilly band called Hot Pants that Manu Chao formed together with other musicians in the 1980s. While still playing with the Hot Pants, Manu Chao formed a second band called Los Carayos with his brother Antoine and some friends. Los Carayos music incorporated punk and rockabilly sounds with alternative music, which was rapidly gaining popularity in Paris in the late 1980s.
In 1987, Manu and Antoine teamed up with their cousin to form Mano Negra, one of Manu Chao’s best-known partnerships. Mano Negra became very popular throughout Europe and South America, and despite a small English-speaking fan base, was signed by Virgin Records. In 1994, the band moved to Madrid, Spain and disbanded shortly thereafter.
Despite Mano Negra’s official disbandment, some of its members joined Manu Chao to form a new band, Radio Bemba Sound System. The style Radio Bemba aimed for was said to be a replica of the street music and night scenes the band members encountered on their travels in Central and South America. It was during his time with Radio Bemba that Manu Chao started singing mainly in Spanish. Radio Bemba’s songs were well received, but in 2004, Manu Chao returned to French-language lyrics and a more French-influenced sound.
After his time with the aforementioned bands, Manu Chao began performing under his own name more often. He also takes part in further musical collaborations, including producing albums for other artists, writing songs for films and even collaborating on entire film soundtracks. In the 21st century Manu Chao’s music has grown in popularity in English-speaking countries. He has performed numerous concerts in the United States, including Lollapalooza in 2006 and the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in 2007.
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